I'm thinking about selling plants
 

I'd like some help with a few things.

I'm not selling to make a living just to pay for my hobby as a start and I'll see where that takes me.

I should be able to move plants, I already talked to one Feed-N Seed store that will buy from me, I go to monthly farmers Markets and could use Craigslist and Facebook to sell along with getting more stores to sell to.

I've been crunching numbers and it seems the flat, insert and soil will be between $2.32-$2.48 a flat and the seed cost will always change depending on variety.

How is everyone pricing plants and figuring out what you need to make per flat/6 pak to make it worth your time?

How sells the cheapest plant labels?

How big do you want you're plants when it's time to plant in your area?

Is it better to sell 4 paks instead of 6?

Do bigger plants in bigger pots sell better?

Do you have a cost calculator for MS Office to figure out costs? What about a soil calculator to figure out how much soil you need per flat?

That's enough for now but I'm sure I'll have more later.

I grow plants for a couple of nurseries in my area and charge them 50 cents per plant; they take 50 to 75 plants per year. That's not really very many but they are not able to get plants that I grow so it is a specialty order. The nurseries both charge $1 per plant and sell out. As the popularity increases the orders have also increased.

I repot into 2"X2"X3" single plastic pots and use plain white plastic labels purchased on e-bay and write the variety name on the label with a sharpie marker. Also I provide a couple of printed description sheets that have been laminated.

The nurseries like the plants to be in the 8" to 10" range ready by mid to late April for the early birds in the area (they usually freeze the first ones and then repurchase to plant at the regular May date). I don't know about bigger pots and plants.

I have not really done a cost accounting to see whether it makes much money but since the extra plants are growing along with my own 300, a little extra work and time is insignificant and I like the cash to supplement my costs. If it gets to be bigger I will do the math.

Please delete. Double posting...

I sell tomato plants at the farmer's market... People are primarily looking for one or two plants. Therefore, I stopped growing in 4 packs or 6 packs, except for my own use. You might get different results in your area, or if selling at the Feed-n-Seed.

Therefore, I sell plants that are about 6 weeks old in 24/flat pots, or that are about 8 weeks old in 3.5 inch pots (18 per flat), or that are about 10 weeks old in 3 quart pots. I upgrade the pots as plants over-grow their previous pots. At my farmer's market, none of the farmer's sell tomato plants in packs.

I base prices on greenhouse space/time... The longer a plant is in my greenhouse, preventing me from growing other things, the higher the price needs to be. With that said, there is a standard price for plants in the local area. If I ask more than that, they don't sell. I can get that price at the farmer's market, but only about half that if I sell to local stores. It's easy to fill a flat with soil, and then dump it out to measure how much soil goes in flats with different sized pots. But the cost of soil is a tiny fraction of the cost/labor of growing a plant, so I ignore soil costs. I opt for premium quality potting soils, cause it sure beats fussing with irrigating with nutrient solutions.

I try to have a variety of different sized pots available each week. Some people want instant gratification, others would rather get 3X as many plants for the same price.

[IMG]http://garden.lofthouse.com/images/tomato/tomatoes-2016-04-20a.jpg[/IMG]

Amsterdam is a good source for seeds.

Worth

What I did may or may not work for you, each area is different.

When I sold some of the starts I did ( I gave about 500 away to the community garden people), at $3.00 each or 4/$10.00, they were in the solo cups with holes drilled through the bottoms. I wrote on the cups with markers, variety, color, size of tomato and leaf type. That way, no labels to lose, being me, or smudge, or to be pulled out and put in the wrong cup. Plants were 6 to 10 inches in the solo cups date of sale.

I bought the solo cups at walmart, and with soiless starter, seed, water, fertilizer and my work, I figured I had right at 50 cents a solo cup/tomato plant on average invested. I also paid one of the neighbor hood girls to help set up the tables in my driveway and sort plants out. That was not figured in the average cost. I did not sell any 4 or 6 packs.

Advertised on Craig's list and on the local radio swap show that goes on early Saturdays - all free. I did do the Craig's list for 3 weekends prior to and including the weekend of the sale. I ran the sale Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 3 pm under the oak tree, also offered bottled water for 50 cents ( was in a big tub with ice).

I also gave up selling six-packs. Most people have gardens too small to want that many plants of one variety. I buy 4" square pots in a "sheet-o-pots" insert that fits into a 1020 web flat, 18 per flat. I fertilize with osmocote. My prices are low, but my market has very low prices on almost everything. I price my plants at $2 each or three for $5.

I sell dwarf and microdwarf plants the earliest, then tomato plants for peoples' outdoor gardens in May, and then peppers after that. Dwarfs will sell long before the ground dries out enough to plant a garden. Plant sales are very weather-dependent. People will buy anything on the first warm sunny day of spring, but no one knows exactly when that will occur.

Herbs are decent sellers, especially if you can buy your seed in bulk. I have a dwarf basil called Emily that I like. Cilantro and parsley are decent sellers. I am going to try to expand to chives, mint, and wheat grass to see if they sell. I am thinking that microdwarfs in pots would probably sell all summer, especially if they had tomatoes on them already. But in my area, people plant their garden in the spring, and then the market to sell tomato and pepper plants is over. They don't sell after about the first weekend in June in my area. I go into flower-selling mode at that point - dwarf sunflowers, dwarf zinnias, and marigolds.

As a consumer before I knew what I was doing gardening - I liked the 6-pack bargains.

After learning how to grow from seed, I did sell to a few people. They liked buying one of each type that I was offering. My prices did not make money, but I was selling to friends that wanted to grow for their first time or to grow something different. They wouldn't take them for free, so I sold them 12 plants for $5.

Offering a free blue cherry tomato plant with purchase is fun for you and them.

Over the years I have always wanted to at least break even on costs ,and as said above supplement my hobby/Forest Bathing(eastern medicine therapy practice)plain old get away from .....Tried the horses,plywood,flats,seems like I created more energy draining forces(work)so that model went out the window.I usually run two germanations and two or three harvests of whatever we decide for that season(mine is from sept.thru may)so I/we in sunny Fl.get some kind of sun 365/d every year.during that time I pull a permit for a multiple family massive clean out garage sale(11 bucks)sat sun after new years at usually my second harvest showing on plants everywhere in yard outside etc.A craiglisting,local blog,those cheap garage sale signs and they come.Thanx to f book,social media and the I phone they come in Mercedes,Bmws,and then some.they browse,pooh pooh this and that ,and notice those specialtys,a towering piper nigrum telephone pole looking mass of berrys,green black red and pink.Along the base growing mini plants in old plastic containers and they want one!oh look a okra plant striped,purple,pods galore three foot high,tobacco at 8 ft.ripening cherry plants,oh look mint ground cover in the two foot high Aloe plants.yes they come red bottomed high heels,diamond I phones Cash..the poor farmers hidden revenge.We make a killing,the flats are a loss leader,not really.Not for all parts of the country,but they come with cash,you gotta love "market forces".PS. And if you have that cute little white cc swipes attached to your I pad you will not lose that sale since no one carrys "stacks" in rubber bands no mo.A I ft cherry mater plant will get me 5/ 10 bucks when a full grown plant behind it with ripe cherrys dropping off and a sign saying for display only,our permit states no food sales,ornamentals is is then.

Thanks for all the responses!!

From all the info I'm gonna do some 4 paks for the F-n-S stores and singles for all other sales. I priced everything from Grower Solutions and came up with a price per flat including tray, insert and soil at $2.54. That's for 18 plants per flat. The 4 and 6 pak inserts are the same price per 100, $63. Does anyone have lower prices?

I converted cubic inches to cuft and it's .3 cuft per flat and that was using the tray size, 11"W x 21"L x 2.25"deep so there should be a little leeway and that's close enough to perfect for me.

The cheapest good potting soil I found is the Pro-Mix Walmart started selling last year. It was $17 per bail that expands to 4cuft. I think most of the big box stores will carry it this year, I saw Home Depot as a supplier. I used it last year and didn't have any problems. [url]http://www.promixgardening.com/en/product/detail/pro-mix-vegetables-herb[/url]

I'm still not sure on pricing yet, I'll have to check a few places and see what the going rate is this year. Last season the prices on 6 paks were $1.75 from the local nurseries and I think Bonnie's were $3.50 a 6pak or the same for a single bigger plant.

I just looked at a guys facebook page had here's his prices I can use as a start.

I'm out this week but feel free to shop using self checkout. Here's a plant list
Herbs $2.50(check the back area for full selection)
Italian oregano
Mojito mint
Peppermint
Chocolate mint
Spearmint
"The best" mint
Fresh fruit mint
Oregano/thyme
Lemon verbena
Lemon grass
Tarragon-Spanish
Thyme
Rosemary
Parsley
Cilantro
Dill
Chamomile
Vegetables $2 some things available in 6 packs for $4
Bon choi 6pack-$4
Red cabbage 6pack $4
Swiss chard
Arugula
Brussel sprouts
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Kale
Green onion
Mustard wasabino
Spinach
Mustard (6 packs)
Strawberries
Also soil mix in front of counter on right($8), manure on left($8), and pine straw on the front deck($9).
Thank you!!

above all KNOW YOUR VARIETIES. you literally need to be able to sell snow to an Eskimo except you are selling tomato plants to the consumer. ask what they are going to use the fruit for, know what varieties you have are good for. and then throw in the normal round red marglobe or rutgers, big beef and a paste... roma etc...match up their needs to the fruit. the largest I sell is in a 4 pack for canning tomatoes. most people don't want 4 or 6 of the same variety. but truly, most people don't quibble over a few plants.

get to know container labels. Cole Robbie mentioned the pull apart sheets... that is an "1801" it fits in a 1020 tray. 1801 means there are 18 single cells.
1020 is the size of the webbed tray the sheet of cells fits in and you must have the webbed flats. don't but a "true 1020" that is a true 10"x20" tray. most of us buy a 10x20 that is 10.5"x 20.5 " and the inserts wont fit into that true 1020 unless you have bought true inserts also. you can't mix and match them. you can mix and match brands without it being much of an issue just not sizes.
1203= a sheet of 12 triple cell tear apart inserts. a 1204 is sheet of 12 tear aparts with 4 cells. there are multiple inserts configurations available. these are the just most common.
1201's are great for onions...
I put my most expensive seeds usually hybrids in single cells I put open pollinated in multiple cells. charge the same price for every cell pack. makes it easier to not mess up and lose money on more expensive seeds. the longer it takes to grow something them more expense you have in it whether it is time or fuel keeping them warm.
I buy tags from John Henry co. they are about .04c eac usually. but I am buying hundreds of each variety you can also buy blanks from them and write on them with a contractors marker... not a regular indelible one. regular sharpies fade before you can sell the plant.
I grow a lot of plants so I buy 25 bales of baccto. and sometimes I need more. if I have a customer who wants a large container filled I usually have to make a run for a few more bales.I pay about 22.00 a bale for baccto. I bought the loose fill two years ago but I didn't like it so I went back to compressed bales.

I buy osmocote in a 50# bag and add it to every pot or tub of mix.. add that to your mix and you will have a much nicer finished product. BUT I also fertilize everytime I water my plants. I have an injector in each greenhouse.

[QUOTE=Rajun Gardener;672430]Thanks for all the responses!!


I just looked at a guys facebook page had here's his prices I can use as a start.

I'm out this week but feel free to shop using self checkout. Here's a plant list
Herbs $2.50(check the back area for full selection)
[I]Italian oregano
[B]Mojito [/B]mint
Peppermint
[B]Chocolate mint[/B]
Spearmint
"T[B][B]he best" mint[/B][/B]
[B]Fresh fruit mint[/B]
[/I]Oregano/thyme
Lemon verbena
Lemon grass
Tarragon-Spanish
Thyme
Rosemary
Parsley
Cilantro
Dill
[B][I][I]Chamomile[/I][/I][/B]
Vegetables $2 some things available in 6 packs for $4
[B]Bon choi 6pack-$4[/B]
[[B]I][I]Red cabbage 6pack $4[/B]
[B]Swiss char[/B]d
[B]Arugula[/B]
Brussel sprouts[/I][/I]
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Kale
Green onion
[[B][B]I][I]Mustard wasabino
Spinach
Mustard (6 packs)
Strawberries[/I][/I]
Also soil mix in front of counter on right($8), manure on left($8), and pine straw on the front deck($9).
Thank you!![[/B][/B]/QUOTE]

anything in bold... I have never sold much of. so if you start them go easy on the amount you plan on.

The only place I have seen mojito mint for sale is in plant form from Territorial, and they are sold out every time I look:
[url]http://www.territorialseed.com/product/Mojito_Mint_Plant/herb_plants[/url]

I purchased Mojito mint from Richters a few years ago. I believe they still carry it.

Bill

Thanks. I just looked up the link:
[url]https://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X4025[/url]

I thought Ya'll might like to see the way this guy has his sales set up. He does landscape work and sells on the side among other things. I met him a few years ago and see him every year at the Day Lily festival. Here's his facebook page of what he sells/does but more importantly for some of you might be the way he collects money when he's not home. He has a store set up on Square. I'm sure he has some theft, I know he's not in the best part of town.

[url]https://squareup.com/store/urbannaturalist[/url]

[url]https://www.facebook.com/TheUrbanNaturalist/[/url]

At my market, 6-packs of basil are very popular.

I few years ago I was making 6-packs of mixed varieties of tomatoes. They were very well received.

I pretty much do as cole does only I dont use any ferts unless the plants are getting big and then I use TTF or fish emulsion/kelp. I sell all my veg starts at $3 each or 5 for $10. you can see all my prices here [url]https://nodinesplants.wixsite.com/nodinesplants[/url]

It is hard to lose money selling plants. If you can find a plug grower near you it makes it really quick to make a fair amount of $. Dwarf flowers of any sort typically sell well especially Profusion Double Mix zinnias. I'd also call Ball and find your nearest rep. He will know all the growers and plug producers and can likely help you more than anyone here. Hanging baskets are also something to consider. Ask other nursery owners around you what their best/easiest flower is for making $ Good Luck!

[QUOTE=Rajun Gardener;672462]I thought Ya'll might like to see the way this guy has his sales set up. He does landscape work and sells on the side among other things. I met him a few years ago and see him every year at the Day Lily festival. Here's his facebook page of what he sells/does but more importantly for some of you might be the way he collects money when he's not home. He has a store set up on Square. I'm sure he has some theft, I know he's not in the best part of town.

[url]https://squareup.com/store/urbannaturalist[/url]

[url]https://www.facebook.com/TheUrbanNaturalist/[/url][/QUOTE]

His prices seem awfully low. I'd never sell a veg seedling for less than $2.

We have an annual sale here of tomato plants. Here is not a farming community by any means, so there are not a lot of people selling food plants, but lots if ornamentals. So most people go to Home Depot or Lowe's to buy their tomato plants, and those stores sell them for $3.65 each in 4-inch pots. So we make a killing that one weekend we sell, by selling at $3 a piece or 10 for $25. Our sale benefits our local community garden with 100% of the proceeds going to buy supplies for the community garden members. Our community garden lets people garden for free and take home food just for sweat equity. We usually make just under $2,000 in that weekend. We have a large following now because our plants do very very well.

100% of my [I]financial[/I] proceeds go to me, but one of the best things about growing plants for sale is being in the position to give a lot of them away. Every year, I always end up growing a lot more than I can sell, and then always seem to find a place to donate a lot of plants. One year it was a children's home, and another year it was the state prison. This past summer, a new community garden went up in my town, and they got a lot of plants from me.

You'll also make a lot of friends with loyal customers who will come back next year and remember you, even though you might not remember them. I especially enjoy selling dwarf and container plants to customers who would otherwise be past the age where they were physically healthy enough to garden. Where I live, the soil is good, so growing a tomato in a container is a rare thing and most people don't even know it is possible, especially growing one that tastes good. Each spring, I have an older gentleman track me down to get his favorite dwarf tomato variety (Mano). He is in an assisted living facility, and I can tell it gives him great joy to not only be able to grow tomatoes, but that they "taste the way a tomato ought to taste, " as he puts it.

Just this week, when visiting my grandma, I met another assisted living home resident who couldn't wait to buy a lot of my flowers next spring, after she saw some pictures. The catch is that I have to plant them all in the garden they keep for the residents. I laughed and told her I would. I guess I will end up learning how to landscape.

I agree, Cole, some of the most fun was giving many plants away, to the community garden, Rob's chemo nurses, friends and neighbors and kids, too.

Don't get me wrong, the money came in darn handy last year as that was when Rob had just been diagnosed.

A younger family came and bought plants for their garden and as we chatted, turns out the two boys were going to grow a spot with their own plants and would take care of them themselves. Well, the parents picked out their plants, and the boys and I walked around, picking out plants for them and discussing tomato colors and tastes. The boys did the picking, and were so terribly serious about it. Almost like talking with 2 short little farmers!

The boys got their plants free, and hopefully will grow on up planting and enjoying gardening. Both ended up with a lot of varieties and colors.

[QUOTE=imp;672672]The boys got their plants free, and hopefully will grow on up planting and enjoying gardening.[/QUOTE]

Great idea, Imp. I've noticed fewer and fewer young people enjoy gardening, they seem to prefer buying their food in supermarkets, at least in my place. Helping youngsters keep their own plot will give them the joy or creating something by themselves. This is the right way to create new generations of gardeners.

At our mega block long garage sale,we all have a color round little sticker that denote asking price,red soled,BMWS,MARCEDES,SUVS THAT PULL UP IN THE HASTE AND RUN UP ON YOUR CONESget a special price,x2.This has all been decided before.Pick up truck,dirty,neighbors ,friends,little cub/girl scouts,potential gardners all get change back,they walk away with all their money back minus one Penney .Works for us here,networking,sales,bull.... You name it,and on Nfl days flags go up(steelers for I)and it brings all of our humanity out(betting,spread that day?a little bolita).Its not what you do,how you do it,what you say ,how you say it(sayin from memory long ago)The sale has kinda grown its own mini economy if you will.Remember we sold everyone swampland,unforeseen made millions,come on down.

I just got off the phone with Macore, they sell those professional plant stakes pre printed with a pic and description like all the big companies use. 500 is the minimum order for $18, if they don't have the info of the plants you're selling then a research fee of $3.99 is applied. $15.00 handling fee for orders under $200. They can also put a barcode on them too. This price is for the Size 1. It comes out to .4¢ each.

[url]http://www.macore.com/products/plant_stakes/standard_illustrations[/url]

Wow, last time I looked at MasterTag, a similar product, they had a 5,000 tag minimum order. But I think the MasterTag product is meant to lock into a specific type of cell tray - that's the newest design. It keeps customers from being able to yank out the tag. You would be surprised how many people do that, instead of bending over to read it. Then they don't remember where they pulled it out. Little kids are bad about pulling tags, too.

If you sell peppers, separate the sweet and the hot on the table. A lot of people mistakenly think that a hot pepper seedling is going to burn them or their kids, so they are scared to touch the plants.

[QUOTE=Cole_Robbie;672992]Wow, last time I looked at MasterTag, a similar product, they had a 5,000 tag minimum order. But I think the MasterTag product is meant to lock into a specific type of cell tray - that's the newest design. It keeps customers from being able to yank out the tag. You would be surprised how many people do that, instead of bending over to read it. Then they don't remember where they pulled it out. Little kids are bad about pulling tags, too.

If you sell peppers, separate the sweet and the hot on the table. A lot of people mistakenly think that a hot pepper seedling is going to burn them or their kids, so they are scared to touch the plants.[/QUOTE]

Another reason I label right on the solo cup, tags being taken out or dropped. Plus, after transplanting to the ground/bag, I cut the solo cup into a wedge shape with the info on it, punch a hole in the corner and have a plant tag.

Edit:

I do use a small amount of either Popsicle sticks or shorter plastic labels for the seed trays when I am starting seeds as the spaces are so small and like 48 or 72 cells all together. After I take them out of that, into the solo cups single plant at a time.

[QUOTE=imp;672308]What I did may or may not work for you, each area is different.

When I sold some of the starts I did ( I gave about 500 away to the community garden people), at $3.00 each or 4/$10.00,[B] they were in the solo cups with holes drilled through the bottoms[/B]. I wrote on the cups with markers, variety, color, size of tomato and leaf type. That way, no labels to lose, being me, or smudge, or to be pulled out and put in the wrong cup. Plants were 6 to 10 inches in the solo cups date of sale.

I bought the solo cups at walmart, and with soiless starter, seed, water, fertilizer and my work, I figured I had right at 50 cents a solo cup/tomato plant on average invested. I also paid one of the neighbor hood girls to help set up the tables in my driveway and sort plants out. That was not figured in the average cost. I did not sell any 4 or 6 packs.

Advertised on Craig's list and on the local radio swap show that goes on early Saturdays - all free. I did do the Craig's list for 3 weekends prior to and including the weekend of the sale. I ran the sale Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 3 pm under the oak tree, also offered bottled water for 50 cents ( was in a big tub with ice).[/QUOTE]

Off topic but I am curious about seed starting in Solo cups which I did last season with mixed results but hope to get better at it. How big are the cups you use? Do you water from the top? If you water from the bottom, do you do anything special to get the water wick up high enough in the cup to reach the seedling's roots?

Thanks.

I also use the Solo cups, and the ones I use are 18 ounces. I water from the top, but I don't wet the leaves. I use a watering can with a long narrow spout and insert it into the cup below the leaves to water each cup. Most people swear by bottom watering, but I never liked it. I found that especially when plants are small and so are the roots, the soil at the bottom of the cup was too wet by the time the water reached the small roots near the top. Bottom watering is fine once the roots are well developed, I guess, but I find it easier to make sure the roots are getting adequate water without over watering if I do it from the top. I also think gravity helps distribute the water more evenly in the soil from the top. If you are not wetting leaves, I don't think it matters much and you will get better results with which ever method makes it easier for you properly judge when and how much water they need. Some people grow way too many plants to water individually like I do, and could not water from the top without wetting the leaves repeatedly. I find it gets a little tedious, but I can keep up with up to 75-100 seedlings in Solo cups watering the way I do.

I do both top and bottom water depending on the size of the plant and if I have time to baby each plant. After transplanting i do top water to settle the soil and get any air pockets out.

Maybe your problem is starting seeds in the cup. I start all seeds in a community pot/tub/6 paks then transplant after the first true leaves develop into the cups so I can bury the plants deep and it's usually in the lower 1/3 of the cup so bottom watering will work.